Film Review: Kingsman - The Golden Circle

KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE

Directed by Matthew Vaughn

Starring Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Halle Berry, Channing Tatum

Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman is back in theatres this week with even wittier and more compelling characters. The sequel to 2010's Kingsman: The Secret Service starts with the headquarters of Kingsman destroyed, a new threat to humanity in the form of a toxin laced on all recreational drugs. In the meantime, the members of Kingsman discover that they have a sister agency in Kentucky: Statesman. With a new malicious enemy, the two join forces.

Mocking the classic spy movies is one of the anticipated characteristics of this sequel, but the new Kingsman is a lot more merciless than before. Being the aberration of classic spy movies, are we even surprised to see Harry back? Losing his memory and one eye, he is a little bit out of shape, but he gets on his feet once again. It would be extraordinary to not see Harry after the huge success the character had. Harry is not the only character we are thrilled to see: Pedro Pascal plays the role of Whisky. It’s impossible to miss the Game of Thrones and Narcos actor on the posters.

The Golden Circle’s visuals make it worth the hype. George Richmond, the cinematographer, made the right moves to clasp us again. It has action with vivid aesthetics, from the 50s decorations to the classic British-style fighting scenes. The most striking part of the cinematography in Kingsman is the setting, buildings, and the color palette they chose. The splashes of golden, black, and orange are some of the most striking. Examples include the scene in the Swedish palace and the stupendous scene of the Mont Blanc cable car (from Courmayeur at 1,370m, up to Pointe Helbronner at 3,462m.) It wouldn’t be a spy movie without a snow scene and turtlenecks. Kingsman invests in the choice of setting and cinematography, which makes it able to provide a fresh look for spy films.

The movie plays with our emotions right from the beginning, unlike the first one, which might be one of the reasons why there are so many major villain characters with different motives such as Charles. For example, Elton John's character was a charming touch on the storyline; apparently, after the original’s success, getting another celebrity playing themselves in the movie was inevitable. The main difference between the previous movie and this one is the appeal to the emotions, which works great in The Golden Circle. Also, they managed to combine it with very well-timed comic relief.

As I have mentioned earlier, there were dramatic moments where the audience could really relate to the characters and plot, which was one of the elements I don’t feel we saw in the previous movie. The jokes are still there and stronger than ever. Our young, but more posh, Eggsy brought Kingsman back in style.

MERVE DERYA YAZICIOGLU

Originally from Istanbul/Turkey but lives in Groningen, Netherlands. Studies English Language and Culture at Groningen University. Interested in poetry, writing, art, films, and medieval period.